MURRIETA: Candlelight vigil held for people with Alzheimer's

The candles were to be lighted in remembrance of friends andloved ones suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Although strong winds put out the tiny flames, that failed to
diminish the strength of the message delivered in the ceremony held
outside Murrieta Gardens Senior Living on Thursday.

About 35 people, including many senior citizens in wheelchairs,
gathered to participate in a national candle-lighting vigil for
people with Alzheimer's, a degenerative, fatal disease of the brain
that affects more than 5 million Americans, according to the
Alzheimer's Association.

Other vigils were scheduled throughout the country and still
more will be held throughout the month.

Most of the people who attended Thursday's ceremony were somber
as they listened to Dr. Dennis Kim, a Loma Linda University Medical
Center graduate and current medical director of Care Alternatives
Hospice in Temecula, explain the symptoms of advanced
Alzheimer's.

They grew more concerned when Dr. Kim told them that by the time
they reach 85, about half of them will have developed the disease
and that, while research is ongoing, a cure has not been found.

"But living in fear and constantly worrying about it is not
going to help," Kim said. "Staying active, using your mind on a
daily basis will help."

Alzheimer's is an acceleration of the death of brain cells,
causing extreme forgetfulness.

Short-term memory is lost first, Kim said, but as the disease
moves from mild to intermediate and severe stages, long-term memory
is affected, as are simple day-to-day reasoning skills.

Unchecked diabetes and high blood pressure have been linked to
Alzheimer's, he said, as have obesity and a lack of mental
stimulation.

"I'm horrible with names ---- this has been a problem for me
since my 20s. Forgetting names doesn't mean you have Alzheimer's.
Now, forgetting you met someone, that may be a sign," Kim said.
"When people are on the phone and they forget they put their kid in
the other room, that's not Alzheimer's. If you forget you had a
child, period, that's when you have to start worrying."

Other side effects include drastic changes in personality, Kim
said.

As an example, Kim recalled a patient who had served as a
pastor, but transformed into a foul-mouthed aggressor as the
disease developed in his brain.

The patient, Kim said, finished his years physically attacking
those who cared for him.

Kim said 360,000 people are diagnosed with Alzheimer's each
year, and the true statistics may be much higher, because no real
standard for diagnosing the disease has been set by medical
professionals.

As the brain deteriorates, Kim said, people with Alzheimer's
need increasing support and care, which can be taxing on loved ones
and financially devastating.

According to the Alzheimer's Association, a family could spend
$77,000 a year for full-time care of a patient with Alzheimer's,
and patients can survive with the disease for years.

At Murrieta Gardens, 15 of the 65 live-in patients suffer from
Alzheimer's, said Debbe Zingarelli, a manager at the complex.

Zingarelli's grandmother also suffers from Alzheimer's, she
said.

Periodically, the grandmother will ask for her husband, who died
more than 30 years ago.

When Zingarelli tells her that he is gone, she relives the pain
of losing him as if it were the first time.